A Love Story, Of the Out of Order Variety
by When In Doubt Smile
Summary: Rose has been in love with the Doctor since before the beginning. The last time he saw her was the first time she saw him. After all, some stories are best told out of order.


Disclaimer: Everything is property of BBC, including the pictures. Sadly, I am not BBC.

A Love Story, Of the Out of Order Variety

For ever and ever-

The note reads: "I'm glad you found your pilot lord. Love, Shareen."

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5 years old-

"My prince is going to have long yellow hair. And blue eyes with stars in them," Shareen proudly proclaimed as she and Rose played with their dolls on the floor of Rose's room.

"That's boring. Everyone wants a prince like that," Rose retaliated.

"Course they do. People want to be like princesses and you can't be a princess if you don't have a prince."

"What if I don't wanna be like everyone else, Shar? I think I don't even want a prince."

"Rose, what do ya want then? Everyone marries a prince?"

After an urgent inquiry about other types of people that Rose could marry, the two girls decided that instead of marrying a prince, Rose would be destined for a pilot lord.

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16 years old-

"Remember, all those years ago, how we said I was gonna marry a pilot lord?" whispered an eager Rose. She's just come back from a long walk after a brutal argument with her mum (which all blew over as soon as Rose stepped into the house, at least on her mother's side of things.) All Rose got in response was a noise that sounded a bit like a yawn, but she kept talking, ignoring her friend's protest that it was 2:00 in the morning. "I told you he was gonna have crazy brown hair that would stick up all over the place and take me all over the world?" She didn't wait for confirmation. "And how he was going to talk nonstop and look at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered? I found him tonight."

"What?" Shareen nearly shouted.

"Yeah, his name is Jimmy Stone. And he's so much better than I imagined. He's blond…"

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19 years old-

Rose is lying on her bed. A whole year, she's been gone. She looks around her room and isn't quite sure what she thinks. The room looks smaller than it did before, but she's pretty sure that her circular room in the TARDIS isn't that much larger. But she rationalizes it in her head. The whole world seems smaller now that she's seen how large it can actually be. She feels uncomfortable, confined to one time period, one planet. So she does the one thing she knows will always make her feel better. She pulls out her phone and dials the number she didn't even bother to put on speed-dial because her fingers were already programmed to punch the necessary numbers whenever she needed to hear Shareen's voice.

Shareen is the one she tells the most truth to. She tells her she ran away with a man and that she's seen the world. She also whispers to her that she can't stay, and when her friend urges her to stay, she tells her the only thing she knows. "I've found my pilot lord."

"No, you haven't Rose. You said this about Jimmy, too. Does he have crazy brown hair and talk forever and look at you like you're the only thing in the world?"

"But, Shar…"

"No, I'm not watching my best friend get fooled by some bloke who only wants you in the evenings from 8:00 to 12:00."

"That's not how it is, Shar. He's funny and he calls me beautiful and he loves me. And he's a pilot lord."

"Stop being stupid, Rose. I don't want you to get hurt, please, just let it go. I thought you were with Mickey anyway. Any man who takes you away from a comfortable relationship is trouble."

"What if I'm tired of comfortable relationships? What if I want something that makes my heart skip a beat and makes me happy all the time? All I want to do is leave something good for something better."

"Something you _think_ is better, Rose."

"It is better Shar. I promise you."

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20 years old-

"Oh my gosh! Rose Tyler, start explaining, now!" exclaimed Shareen to her friend, who had stepped in for tea accompanied by her, her, her… Shareen was at a loss for words. This was the man Rose had made so many promises about a year ago. Shareen hadn't seen the man that year ago, but she knew this had to be the one by the way that Rose's eyes sparkled and the way that their hands seemed to fit without them trying.

Stepping into a separate room after Rose situated her friend/ boyfriend/ whatever with some tea and banana tarts, which both of them found fitting and hysterical; Rose turned to her friend and proclaimed, "Told you so."

"That you most certainly did." Shareen murmured, still a little shocked at the day's outcome. She didn't really listen as Rose sang the praises for her "Doctor", as she was far more preoccupied with looking at Rose's left hand. Feeling that an interruption was called for, Shareen asked, "Where's the ring?"

" The ring?"

"Yeah, you're engaged, right?"

"No… why?

"Rose, do you see the way you both look at each other?"

"We're just friends."

Shareen didn't bother to tell her to keep dreaming, as she exited the room.

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34 years old-

Shareen has been coming to Canary Warf for 14 years now. She cries every time she sees her friend's marker. It seems wrong to condense a person, any person, to just a plaque. She didn't fool herself with thinking that her friend had lived the most adventurous life out of all the people who had died, but it still seemed wrong. All those times Rose would call and Shareen would hear strange noises in the background or her friend would slip and mention a year in the past or the future and sound like she'd been there. Shareen decided she would just have to accept it.

As she gets ready to leave- after all she has a family to take care of- she leaves her bunch of flowers with the card that she leaves every year. She knows the "Doctor " would be proud of what it says.

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9 years old-

"Rose, Shareen has to go now. Someone's here to help you with your science homework." Jackie called to her daughter. Both girls came out giggling about Rose's pilot lord. At first they don't even acknowledge the strange man wearing a bowtie who has come to assist Rose. As a matter of fact, Shareen never notices him, but Rose does. She even tells him that his bowtie is cool.

And so Shareen, the girl who will want to see her best friend fall in love and be loved for all the years to come, misses the look of absolute adoration and love that the bowtie-wearing man wears proudly on his sleeve.

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76 years old-

Rose Tyler and her husband step back into their old universe once more. Joyfully, they talk of their times together. But they have a mission to complete. When Canary Warf comes into view, Rose grips her husband's hand even tighter than before. Laying next to Rose's memorial is a card and a bouquet of flowers. Looking hungrily for a familiar face, Rose races as fast as she can toward the memorial. Reading the single, solitary sentence on the card, tears begin to spill down Rose's face.

Shareen may have missed the sight of true love when she was nine. But now, two weeks before her death, she looks back for the first time. She can't quite believe her eyes, after all, everyone who loved Rose died in the battle that ended her friend's life, except for the "Doctor." Shareen never believed in ghosts, but when she sees the couple kneeling next to her friend's memorial, she doesn't have a single shred of doubt about who it is.

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For ever and ever-

The note reads: "I'm glad you found your pilot lord. Love, Shareen."

Author's Note: I always appreciate reviews, just please no flaming. Thank you for reading!

Be awesome,

When In Doubt, Smile


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